Page 9 of What the Heart Wants (Desires of the Heart 1)

I eat my soup and sandwich with an iced coffee, but only get a couple bites in when Foster and Ian come in and smile at me. They order their food and sit with me. I smile at them politely. They work on one of the floors below, but Jenny introduced us at lunch last week and I have been eating with them ever since.

“How was the first week with the bosses?” Foster asks in between bites.

I shrug. “It’s alright. They spend most of their time in their office.”

They both smirk at me. “I’m sure they do,” Foster says with a knowing look. He doesn’t seem like he’s being judgemental if it was the case that the men are in a sexual relationship together.

The door to the bistro opens. When I look up, I can’t help but smile. My best friend Holly walks in and looks around the place before spotting me. She raises an eyebrow at the fact I’m sitting with two guys, but doesn’t say anything. She grabs herself a sandwich and a coffee before joining us.

“Guys, this is my best friend Holly. Holly, this is Foster and Ian. They work with me,” I say awkwardly. I have never been good at this friend thing.

“Hey there guys. I sure hope that you guys aren’t being assholes to my friend here. I wouldn’t blink an eye at castrating you if you were,” she says in a serious voice, and I know Holly well enough to tell that she’s serious.

Holly has always been protective of me and would never let anyone make fun of me or use me for their pleasure. Being cooped up in a hospital pretty much my whole life, I loved that about her. I know that I can trust her judgement about anything.

They both raise their hands in surrender and shake their heads back and forth. I can’t help but laugh.

“Don’t worry, Holly. Everyone at work loves her,” Ian says with a smile.

She eyes them for a moment before nodding her head in approval. They both sigh in relief before they start eating again.

“What brings you down here, Holly?” I ask since she hasn’t been able to meet me for lunch in the last few weeks.

“Well, you told me this is where you eat your lunch, and I didn’t have any work today so I thought that I might come and keep you company,” she says with a shrug.

Holly works as a PA for a few authors online, so she never has set hours and works when they need her to. Her passion has always been reading books, and she’s good at communicating with people. There is a whole world of book people out there who have a passion for writing books, reading them, or writing about them on self-made blogs that I never even knew existed until Holly got me into some of them. Sure, I like to read, but not as much as Holly does. She absolutely loves what she does. You can see her always carrying her laptop, kindle, and phone around. She also is a bartender at a local pub. She loves to keep herself busy. I don’t know how she does it all, but it seems to work for her.

Usually, I hand her my kindle to add new books to it since she’s recommended some great ones. There are a tone of genres and tropes out there that I would have never considered if it weren’t for Holly.

Since I don’t have much of a social life since moving back, I am usually reading. There is nothing like getting lost in a story. Sometimes it’s nice picturing yourself in the role of the main heroine.

We spend the lunch hour talking before Foster and Ian head back. I still have thirty minutes before I go back, so I sit and order another coffee and talk with my best friend.

“So…” Holly lets the silence come between us.

“So what?” I ask in confusion.

“Well, how are your bosses? You have been working for them for a week now and you haven’t said anything! I’m dying here! Are they hot?” she asks bluntly, looking eager for information.

I can’t help the blush that comes over my face. I nod my head.

“They are probably the hottest men I have ever seen,” I say without any hesitation.

“Damn. You think that one of them might take your V card?” she asks loudly. I immediately shush her while looking around.

“Holly! Not so fucking loud!” I whisper yell to her, and she just laughs.

“Well fuck, Kyla. You have been holding onto that thing for years. It’s about time to hand that shit out. There’s a whole world of sex out there that you don’t even know about,” she says giving me a wink.

I roll my eyes at her as we have had this conversation before. “I’m twenty-six. It’s been this long already; I can’t just give it to anyone. I want the moment to feel right. I might as well wait for someone who deserves it.”

She lets out a sigh. “I know, you’re right. I’d just want to see you happy and falling in love. That was something you didn’t let yourself do in case, well, you know.” She says the last part quietly. I look at her to see her eyes well up with tears.

“It’s okay, Holly. I’ve been fine since the surgery. You’ve got me for the long hull now. I’ll fall in love when it’s the right time and right man,” I say.

“Or men,” she says with a giggle, and a look of mischievousness comes over her face.

I shake my head at her. Holly has been reading a lot of reverse harem lately since she discovered the romance books. She talks about how she would be if she had her own harem and points out random good-looking guys when we’re hanging out saying that she would have him in her harem hands down.

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